Although not all political organizations are incorporated as nonprofits, I'm convinced that all nonprofit professionals should be watching the former's online strategies.
During the 2004 presidential election here in the USA, we saw political groups making a great leap toward successful use of the internet in fundraising, in raising public awareness of issues, and in organizing action. These are successes to which every nonprofit or philanthropic organization can aspire!
One of the rules of thumb that I often invoke when advising nonprofit organizations about their technology choices is:
In this case, the entire nonprofit sector has an opportunity to watch while political campaigns serve in this role. Let's face it: there are a lot of political groups out there working to vote in candidates or legislation, and they tend to have the money and sense of urgency that are necessary to try bold new measures.
In this field, the web site PoliticsOnline is the linchpin. I recommend its blog, BuzzWebster - but the true brilliance of this enterprise is revealed in its email bulletins, The Weekly PoliTicker and NetPulse. Subscriptions to these bulletins are available through the PoliticsOnline web site.
N.B.: The PoliticsOnline web site is off-line at the moment, but BuzzWebster continues to be accessible. If you'd like to take a look at back issues of The Weekly PoliTicker and NetPulse, take a look at the online archives of the Electronic Advocacy email distribution list, where they are routinely posted. The Electronic Advocacy list is an excellent resource in itself for anyone who wants to participate in an online discussion of this topic.
NPtech
